Crime rates rise in New Jersey

Crime, overall, came in as a mixed bag for New Jersey in 2011. Violent crime went down by less than half a percent, while crime overall went up by about three percent.

Trenton saw an increase of less than one percent in overall crime. Hamilton had 2,015 crimes reported to authorities over the year, down from 2,076 in 2010. Crime went up by about two percent countywide.

Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede said the department there has taken steps to deal with the year-over-year rise in crime in neighboring Trenton, which has cut more than 100 police officers in the past two years.

“Our police department has prepared to address any anticipated crime coming into Hamilton from our border areas,” she said. “we will continue to be proactive in addressing crime and crime statistics. What we’ve realized is in our prep for criminal that are coming into Hamilton is they are more likely to stay in Trenton. People are more likely to realize it is easier to commit a crime in Trenton than it is in Hamilton.”

The 23 murders reported in Trenton marked an increase from the 15 in 2010. Reported rapes also went up; 25 compared to 13 in 2010 and robberies went up by 20, to 521. The number of aggravated assaults decreased, from 672 to 642.

Those crimes made up most of the totals for Mercer County as a whole, which had 25 murders, 48 rapes, 693 robberies and 837 aggravated assaults. The number of rapes in the county almost doubled from 2010, when people reported 27 rapes to police.

The township saw a close to 15 percent increase in burglaries compared to the previous year, 513 compared to 436.

Capt. Remo DiPaolo, spokesman for the Hamilton Police Department, said members of the public are police’s best tool for addressing and preventing crime.

“If they see something suspicious, they call us. That’s the best thing that can happen right there,” he said. “They don’t have to wait to hear anything about burglaries in their neighborhood to make them suspicious.”

Robbinsville, which saw a 20 percent increase in incidents, from 127 to 153 reported crimes, had its largest increase in larcenies. Mayor Dave Fried said as the economy has stagnated, the town has seen more such crimes.

“As the economy worsens we’re definitely noticing an uptick in crime, primarily in thefts,” he said.

The state police compile the statistics annually from all law enforcement departments in each municipality, including state, county and local entities. The statistics for 2012 will come out next year.